He said Savage is scheduled to step down at midnight Sunday, and Democratic Legislator Judith Dagostino, the current vicechair, will be elevated to chairwoman.

Savage, who will begin her new job Monday, will earn $106,000 per year, according to Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman with the state Budget Division.

Dagostino will remain in that post until the end of the year when the panel will elect a permanent chair during the legislature's Jan. 1 reorganization meeting, McQueen said.

The legislature will appoint a replacement for Savage's District 3 seat at a future meeting, and there will be an election in November the two years left on her term. District 3 covers Scotia, Glenville and Niskayuna.

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Savage is the second high-profile Schenectady Democrat picked by Cuomo for state job this year.

In November, Savage came up short in her bid to dethrone incumbent Republican Sen. Hugh Farley.

She has been a member of the legislature since 1998, serving as chairwoman since Democrats took over in 2004.

"I am truly grateful to the people of Niskayuna, Scotia and Glenville and Schenectady County for giving me the opportunity to serve my community for the past 14 years," she said in a news release. "I'm proud to have led county government at a critical period, and I thank my constituents and my colleagues on the county legislature for the confidence they placed in me."

Savage listed some of her biggest achievements as the establishment of the county's first Office of Economic Development and Planning, creation of a professional and proactive economic development effort and cutting county property taxes four of the last six years. Additionally, she touted building projects, including GE's Alternative Energy Headquarters and GE's new sodium battery plant, the future development of the 60-acre former ALCO site and transformation of the city's downtown.

"Schenectady County is a much different place than it was seven years ago," she said.